Topic Lifecycle: Dormant
This topic is currently dormant in the news cycle. It was last covered on Saturday 22 August 2026 and has not appeared in recent broadcasts.
Coverage trend (last 30 days)
How much coverage this topic got from each channel over the past month.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Recent stories
The latest story timelines linked to this topic, newest activity first.
What was reported
A plain summary of this topic, built from the channels that covered it.
The coverage focused on concerns about electric motorbikes, often referred to as e-bikes, being ridden illegally and dangerously. Residents in Burgess Hill described incidents of riders performing wheelies, speeding on pavements, and intimidating pedestrians. One resident, Taylor, was injured when an illegal rider caused him to crash his legal motorbike. The report explained the difference between legal e-bikes, which have pedals, motor assistance, and a speed cap of 15.5 mph, and e-motorbikes, which are more powerful, have throttles, and are rarely road legal. Police are seizing and destroying such bikes, and the government says it has given police new powers to seize vehicles used anti-socially without prior warning, and plans to fast-track disposal of seized bikes.
Key Claims by Channel
| Claim |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Reported by all 2 channels | ||
| Electric motorbike riders were reported to be intimidating pedestrians and putting people at risk. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| The law states that e-motorbikes should only be driven on private land. | ||
| Residents in Burgess Hill said e-bike gangs are a growing problem. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| A resident and her partner were nearly knocked down by two groups of bikes on the pavement. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| A resident filmed a gang of bikers performing wheelies and riding on the wrong side of the road. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| A resident was injured when an illegal rider chased him and caused him to crash. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| Legal e-bikes have pedals, assist the rider, and are capped at 15.5 miles per hour. | ||
| E-motorbikes are more powerful, often have a throttle, and few are road legal. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| Police said they will seize and destroy illegal e-bikes found on the road. | Reported by BBC News | |
| Police detained a rider who tried to violently escape after being stopped for wheelies and pavement riding, and seized his bike. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| The government said it has given police new powers to seize vehicles used anti-socially without a prior warning. | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One |
| The government wants to introduce fast track disposal of seized bikes. | Reported by BBC One | |
This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.
Timeline
Where this topic appeared. Cells show coverage time and are darker when there was more coverage.
| Date | Channel 5 | BBC News | BBC One | BBC Two | Channel 4 | GB News | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 22 August 2026 | — | 3m 2.1% | 2m 50s 8.1% | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tuesday 4 August 2026 | — | — | 4m 3s 4.2% | — | — | — | — | — |